The Year-End Roundup includes 179 questions asked by the New York Times Learning Network between September 2016 and June 2017. Each prompt promotes discussion on current events appropriate for students 13 years and older. Choose the link to any question to read a short article with background information and suggested points to consider. Download the complete list in a PDF form for easy reference; however, this form doesn't include links to the articles and additional information.

In the Classroom

Bookmark and save this site as a resource for writing prompts, current events discussions, or as a springboard to debate topics. Before writing, encourage students to research their topic and take notes. Use an online note-taking site like Google Keep, reviewed here, to save and share notes. Have students share their completed projects in a blog and ask for feedback from their peers using Telegra.ph, reviewed here. There is no registration with Telegra.ph and you just click on an icon to upload images from your computer, add a YouTube or Vimeo, or Twitter links. Take completed writing projects one step further and ask students to create a Story Map, reviewed here. Story Map offers the ability to tell a story through interactive maps including video, images, and more.

Beautiful Audio is an in-browser audio editor that works with Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. Use the editor to import or record audio files to edit. Use the toolbar to add effects, drag and reorder audio, and split or delete sections of your file. Easily save completed projects to Google Drive or your computer. Be sure to visit the "Docs" section of this site for an overview of available features. Beautiful Audio recommends using the editor for files under 300mb or 45 minutes in length to avoid crashes leading to project failures.

In the Classroom

Record your class singing or reading their compositions to share with parents on your website or blog. Record and edit sound to be included with PowerPoint presentations. Use with a creative writing project to record stories for selected images. Share with students to use with multimedia projects to create background audio or original audio presentations. View the features of the site on your interactive whiteboard together with your older students, then allow them time to explore and experiment with the available features. Instead of having students share a written speech as an oral presentation, ask them to use Beautiful Audio to record their presentation and add original features to the soundtrack. Include this recording as part of a multimedia presentation using a site like Sway, reviewed here. Sway offers tools to create interactive presentations available for all devices.

Organize, search, and share information with MrOwl. Use this site to build "branches" with information useful to you. Add links, photos, and videos to your branches, then share with others through social media. Search the site to find branches created by others and grab them to save in your account.

In the Classroom

Use MrOwl to organize and save resources for all classroom content. Have students create and share branches with resources used in research projects. Share with students as a way to organize information for review of any content.

Does giving a presentation make you nervous? Perhaps you envy those who make presenting look easy? This infographic packed with tips and advice provides solutions to everyday concerns about speaking in public. Scroll through to find common problems and how to address them. Other information includes planning, preparation, and delivery tips for getting the most out of any presentation.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share this infographic with students before class presentations. Include it on your website for reference throughout the year. After class presentations, have students reflect on what they learned through the speech creating and presenting process and ask them to think about what they would do differently next time. Ask students to write a rough draft script for what they want to say (be sure to have them state what they would do differently next time). Then use a tool such as Recap, reviewed here, or Flipgrid One, reviewed here. Recap and Flipgrid One are video response and reflection tools. This wrap-up for your assignment will help students internalize what they've learned about giving a presentation. Challenge students to create an infographic for something they do well academically, i.e. test taking and studying, writing up labs or research reports, etc. Use a tool such as Infogram, reviewed here, or Piktochart, reviewed here.

kudoswall is a free online portfolio-building tool. Upload images to document accomplishments, talents, and experiences. Add and sort information into categories documenting sports, academic, volunteer, or other topics. kudoswall automatically creates a portfolio for sharing or updating at any time.

In the Classroom

Record classroom activities and student learning with photos or written anecdotes. Show students how to create a portfolio, then document their learning and make comments in their portfolio. Share portfolios with parents, not just at conference time, but anytime the student portfolio is updated to keep parents in the loop.

Create crossword puzzles, word searches, and bingo cards quickly with WordMint. Create your free account to begin, then choose an activity to set up and enter terms. When finished, print and save your puzzle including an answer key and student copies. WordMint also contains an extensive database of already made word searches and puzzles that don't require registration to use, find the links to them at the bottom of the home page.

In the Classroom

Create puzzles and activities to review spelling or vocabulary terms. Create bingo cards and use as an introduction to new concepts. Share a link to this site on your class website for students to create their own puzzles for review at home.

Get the facts on any country with this deceptively simple-looking site. Choose from the alphabetical list of nations to select a country. Following a short introductory description of the country scroll through to view color-coded facts divided into a lengthy list of categories including geography, government, people and society, and more.

In the Classroom

Bookmark this handy site for use in any Social Studies classroom. Find information at any time about any country. Use this site as a starting point for research projects, then have students dig further to find images, literature, and more for the country they are researching. Have student use a bulletin board tool like Lino, reviewed here, to keep track of the resources they've discovered for their country. Challenge students create maps using Zeemaps, reviewed here, with information found at WorldABC and on their bulletin board. Students can add text, images, and location stops! As a culminating activity, have students individually or in groups create a Symbaloo Learning Path, reviewed here, featuring videos, quizzes, and information about a country studied.

Poki Educational Games provides an assortment of learning activities in several different subjects. Find interactives by content by choosing from the related categories options on the right side of the page. Categories include interactives in all content areas as well as problem-solving activities and puzzles.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

This site contains many advertisements, demonstrate how to avoid the ads on your interactive whiteboard with younger students before independent use. Share links to games on classroom computers and your class website. Share with parents for practice at home. Use Dotstorming, < a href="/single.cfm?id=16997">reviewed here, to survey students to see which of several games was a favorite. With Dotstorming students are allowed to vote and make comments. After voting, challenge students to create their own game, similar to the one voted most popular using a tool such as Scratch, < a href="/single.cfm?id=9202">reviewed here.

Global Speed Chat is a global collaboration for kids with monthly activities during the school year. Monthly tasks include questions such as "What Did You Bring for Lunch Today?" and "Create a Global Poem." Classes respond with posts to the Global Speed Chat Padlets. Watch the 2-minute tech tip video on the site to learn more about this collaborative effort.

In the Classroom

Visit the archives to view activities from previous years. Join the Global Speed Chat with your class as an excellent way to learn about other students and countries through questions tailored to learn more about different cultures. Have students use a mapping tool such as Mapskip (reviewed here) to create a map of locations sharing responses on the site's Padlet (with audio stories and pictures included)! this site as a model to set up your own Padlet reviewed here for to share information about students in your class or school.

This interactive takes you through the journey of a Syrian refugee trying to flee to Europe as he or she faces difficult choices along the way. Select your character to begin. Based on real stories, routes and options provide factual dilemmas faced by the refugees. Scroll past the interactive on this site to find more information about the Syrian refugees through videos telling their survivor stories.

In the Classroom

Include this interactive with any lessons on current events or the Middle East. Allow students to explore on their own to learn about the choices faced by the refugees and the outcomes of their decisions. Share the locations using Google Earth, reviewed here. Have students use Fakebook, reviewed here, to create a "fake" page similar in style to Facebook about a refugee as they attempt to make their way out of Syria. Alternatively, have a student or group of students write a memoir in the voice(s) of a refugee about their experiences using Book Creator, reviewed here, or Ourboox, reviewed here.

LOOPY is a drawing tool for thinking in systems and experimenting with simulations. Play with examples of basic ecology, depression & anxiety, or automation & job loss to get a feel for the features of LOOPY. View tutorials for modifying existing models or create your own from scratch. When finished, share with the URL or embed code.

In the Classroom

Share LOOPY with students then have them explore the features included on the shared models. LOOPY would work well in classes with gifted students as an exploration project of different cause and effect relationship influences. Use the embed code to share student examples and explanations on your class website.

Travel to the world's most amazing places whenever you like with Discovery Education's Virtual Field Trips, no chaperones or payment required! Explore the archives by subject, grade level, or theme to view all available experiences. The virtual field trips include a video along with lesson plans and additional resources to download. Some videos are hosted on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the videos may not be viewable. You could always view them at home and bring them to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Freemake Video Converter, reviewed here, to download the videos from YouTube.

In the Classroom

Immerse your students into your studies with a close-up in-depth look through virtual field trips. Visit places where time, money, and mileage inhibit your dreams for bringing your students into wondrous worlds. Find ways to visit where your class has never gone before. Find ways to motivate your most reluctant learners. ESL/ELL learners will appreciate the visit. Reach all types of learners through a class visit. Use field trips as a whole class anticipatory guide, a center activity, a home connection, or even as extra credit. Challenge your gifted students to be guides in their own learning by choosing topics of interest. Then ask these students to share research findings in a video with discussion questions to go with the research and with links to outside resources using a tool such as Rooclick, reviewed here. Be sure students create a script to read from before beginning to produce their own video.

Pickit is a computer add-on providing royalty-free images and icons for use in Microsoft applications. Photos integrate seamlessly into PowerPoint, Sway, Word, and Windows 10. Select the download for Windows 10 or the Windows app to begin and follow directions to access the free plan.

In the Classroom

Use Pickit in your Microsoft classroom as a resource for free images for presentations, reports, and writing projects. Once downloaded, share with students how to access and find images. Use images to add interest to your class website, newsletters, and more.

Create personalized and interactive maps with MapHub's user-friendly features. Explore the featured maps to find examples of maps, then make your own. MapHub's short tutorial provides an overview of features. Add and personalize points on your map by choosing from different icons and color combinations. Give your icon a title and description; MapHub also provides many choices for map backgrounds. Connect points of interest using lines or define with polygons. When finished, download your map or share using the provided link or embed code.

In the Classroom

Use MapHub for personalized lessons in using maps and defining locations. Create a map to share on your interactive whiteboard (or with a projector) to highlight landforms, state capitols, or locations within a novel. As you teach about events in history such as the Civil War add markers to your map to share locations and information from that event. Add notes to your icons sharing information from each location. Include a link to this map on classroom computers or embed onto your class blog for students to view from any device. Add URLs to additional resources within your descriptions of points on a map. This allows you and your students to create visual presentations with access to multiple resources. Flip your classroom to create an interactive lesson using MapHub. Have students view your map as an introduction to a new unit. Instead of a traditional book report or class presentation, have students use MapHub to create an interactive map sharing their learning.

Turn audio into a podcast using any device with Anchor. Add songs from Apple Music or Spotify, upload audio from your computer, or record your voice to create your podcast. Choose a name when finished, then upload your content as a finished podcast. For ideas on what to include in your podcast, listen to Anchor podcasts shared on the site by Anchor users.

In the Classroom

Create regular or special podcasts to share on your class web page or wiki. Looking for even more ideas? Record class assignments or directions. Record story time or a reading excerpt for younger ones to listen to at a computer center AND from home! Have readers (perhaps older buddies) build fluency by recording selected passages for your non-readers. Launch a service project for your fifth or sixth graders to record stories for the kindergarten to use in their reading and listening center. Challenge students to create "you are there" recordings as "eyewitnesses" to historical or current events. Make a weekly class podcast, with students taking turns writing and sharing the "Class News," encourage students to create radio advertisements for concepts studied in class (Buy Dynamic DNA!). Invite students to write and record their own stories or poetry in dramatic readings. Language students or beginning readers could record their fluency by reading passages. Allow parents to hear their child's progress reading aloud, etc. Compare world language, speech articulation, or reading fluency at two points during the year. Challenge your Shakespeare students to record a soliloquy. Write and record a poem for Father's or Mother's Day (or other special events) and send the URL as a gift to that special person. If you have gifted students who lean toward the dramatic, this tool is simple enough for them to create dramatic mini-casts without needing any additional tools.

Create and play your own quizzes with QuizPedia's straightforward and customizable design. Play quizzes without registration or register to create and save your own quizzes. Follow the steps to create your quiz on any device. QuizPedia's format allows the use of images as an option for both questions and responses. Additional options let you set the time quizzes are active or set rules for visibility options.

In the Classroom

Pretest students and allow them to "test out" of material they already know. Learning support teachers will want their students to create their own QuizPedia sets for practice and review of any material. Create your own sets of quizzes, or let students do the work for themselves and each other. Take advantage of quizzes previously developed and available to share with students on your class website. Allow students to create a quiz for other students to take following class presentations and reports.

Sketchboard is an online collaborative whiteboard tool that contains unlimited drawing space. The free plan allows up to 5 users, three private boards, and unlimited public boards. View the 3 step tutorial to learn how to add features and use the included features. Easily share your board with other participants using the provided link.

In the Classroom

Allow students to create collaborative drawings as responses to literature. They can map out the plot or themes, add labels, create character studies, and more. Share the finished products on an interactive whiteboard, projector, or your class website. Have a group of students create a drawing so that another group can use it as a writing prompt. Use a board as a brainstorming or sketching space as groups (or the class) share ideas for a major project or for solving a real-world problem. Use this site with students in a computer lab (or on laptops) to create a drawing of the setting in a story as it is read aloud. As an assessment idea, have students draw out a simple cartoon with stick figures to explain a more complex process such as how democracy works. If you are lucky enough to teach in a BYOD setting, use Sketchboard to demonstrate and illustrate any concept while students use the chat and drawing tools to interact in real time. If you are studying weather, have students diagram the layers of the atmosphere and what happens during a thunderstorm, for example. Introduce this tool to students who are working on group projects. Alternatively, have students use this to work as partners or as a small team to complete complex math problems or equations. Give students a problem by typing it on their board.

Design and play online games at Sploder. Register on the site to save and share your creations; however, registration isn't required to play games. Choose from four different game options to create games without any coding skills. Scroll down on the home page to select games by topic including two-player games and girl games.

In the Classroom

Show Sploder to students who love to play games as an excellent source for creating their own games. Ask them to create educational games for classroom topics such as identifying parts of speech or multiples of numbers. Share a link to games on your class website for review.

Enjoy the power of music to bring people together with this fascinating site from Expedia UK. Click on any of the 16 videos to hear and view a song played by an international artist on an instrument representing their home country. Bring the world together by choosing two or more videos to see and hear the song played simultaneously by the representative artists.

In the Classroom

Share this site as part of any multicultural lessons to hear musical instruments from around the world. Just share the audio as part of your music lessons to have students determine individual or groups of instruments playing at any time. Use the site to demonstrate how different instruments add depth to any piece of music. Share the calming music as background during student work time.

Review Game Zone provides an extensive collection of educational games in a variety of formats. The more often players provide correct responses, the longer time is allowed for gameplay. Use the search feature to find games by topic or type of game. Registration isn't required; however, registration allows teachers to create games for their students. The introductory video resides on YouTube. If your district blocks YouTube, the video may not be viewable. You could always view the video at home and bring it to class "on a stick" to share. Use a tool such as Freemake Video Converter, reviewed here, to download the video from YouTube.This site includes advertising.

In the Classroom

Share a link to review games on your class website for student practice at home. Include a link to games on classroom computers for use as a center. Create your own games to personalize review materials for students. Due to a large number of advertisements on the site, you may want to share this site on your interactive whiteboard with younger students before assigning for independent use.